1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the collection of leaves and other yard debris, and specifically to a device to facilitate the deposition of leaves and other yard debris into a disposal bag.
2. Background Art
Leaves and other yard debris are commonly collected into receptacles, such as garbage cans or bags, for disposal. While leaves can be collected manually using a rake to collect leaves into piles and transfer the piles of leaves into disposal containers, this process is labor-intensive and can be time-consuming for individuals seeking to collect leaves from a large area containing a number of trees. A less labor-intensive technique for collecting leaves involves the use of a portable air blower to arrange the leaves into piles. However, such blower techniques still typically require the collection of leaves into piles, followed by the manual transfer of the leaves into containers for disposal.
More recently, portable leaf blowers have been equipped with a vacuum function, whereby a portable vacuum device can be configured to vacuum up leaves and deposit the leaves into a portable container attached to an exhaust port on the device. A mulching function can optionally be provided whereby the leaves drawn into the vacuum device are mulched, thereby reducing the volume of yard waste for disposal. Such leaf vacuum products are typically supplied with a small receptacle configured for easy portability, such that the receptacle can be carried around the yard by the user. Thus, prior to disposal, the leaves must still be transferred from the portable receptacle to another, typically larger container for disposal.
Therefore, an apparatus that permits the direct transfer of leaves from a leaf vacuum into a disposal receptacle may be desirable in many applications. Furthermore, it may be desirable to provide an apparatus that is adapted to operate in conjunction with a wide variety of standard portable leaf vacuum units, without requiring proprietary features.
The disposal of leaves and other yard waste is also commonly subject to regulations implemented by many towns and local governments. Amongst such regulations may be requirements to use particular yard waste disposal bags. Therefore, it may also be desirable to provide a device which can deposit leaves and yard waste into a variety of different disposal bags or other receptacles.